Shifts in the energy workforce

Abstract

The recent passage of the Inflation Reduction Act heralds an unprecedented era of climate investment for the U.S. Such investment brings with it the promise of new jobs across the clean energy landscape. For rural communities that have historically depended on fossil fuel development or use, however, included several in Colorado, the outlook is at least more complicated. Nearer term, commitments in CO to close down coal plants threaten a number of jobs in specific communities. And longer term, the weaning off of oil use points to declines in employment in that sector as well.